Friday, October 18, 2024

Darwin Nunez breaks silence on Uruguay woes after Luis Suarez gets involved

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Uruguay’s World Cup hopes have taken a hit, and Darwin Nunez has taken to social media to voice his thoughts.

Despite his best efforts during the international break, Marcelo Bielsa’s players suffered a 1-0 defeat to Peru and were held to a goalless draw by Ecuador. The 25-year-old striker was on the pitch for both qualifiers but couldn’t secure a win for his country. Meanwhile, Colombia surged past Chile, pushing Uruguay down to third in the CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying table, with only a single goal separating them from Brazil in fourth place.

Following these disappointing results, Nunez took to Instagram to share his thoughts, garnering over 150,000 likes. The Liverpool star outlined three areas for improvement: “Self criticism, union and work. We’ll try again, Uruguay first always,” he wrote.

Bielsa has faced criticism from Luis Suarez earlier this month as Uruguay struggled to perform. Suarez, a Liverpool legend who retired from international football in September, claimed that the former Leeds United manager had ‘divided the whole group’ and that some players were considering quitting.

Speaking to Latin American television channel DSports, Suarez urged fans not to direct their anger at the players. The Inter Miami star said: “During Copa America there were situations that hurt me but I had to stay quiet for respect to the national team.

“A lot of the senior players on the team held a meeting with the manager to ask him to at least say good morning, he wouldn’t even say hello. Players are going to reach a limit and they are going to explode.

“There were players that during Copa Ameerica were saying that they would play the tournament and then they’d stop playing (for Uruguay),” added Suarez. “I ask for people to not to take it out on players if things don’t go well. Bielsa has separated the entire group even in the way they train.”

In response to this unrest, and specifically addressing Suarez’s comments after Uruguay’s recent defeat by Peru, manager Marcelo Bielsa acknowledged the impact on his authority, stating: “As for how the situation affected me, I don’t ignore what happened, and I know that my authority was affected in some way.

“What happened during the week does not condition or explain how we played, nor do I think it has had an effect because it was a week with a lot of effervescence. It didn’t alter the conviction with which the match was prepared and the way the group and the coaching staff worked. The preparation was the same as always.”

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